A Demon's Mistress

Chapter Nine: That Was....Unexpected.

*TRIGGER WARNING. MENTIONS OF FETAL DEATH AND MISCARRIAGE*

I watched in horror as the test lit up immediately. Two very dark, very positive lines. I walked back into the living room where everyone stood up and I broke. "Im gonna die!" I crumpled to the floor and Kovie gathered me up. They followed Kovie to the bedroom where he tucked me into bed. I was in shock. Why me? Why now? I could feel Kovie's pain at my words but he understood. I was scared. Sure my fertility issues were fixed but I had just subjected my child to literal torture. Were they ok? Were they growing correctly? I sat up and leaned back against the head board. Dax and Kelly were sitting at the edge of the bed while Kovie was curled up with his head over my stomach. I could feel his thoughts and a small nudge from somewhere else. "Why am I not showing? Kelly is." Just another thing to add to my list of worries. "Not sure. Could be the dragon blood. It's the most dominant right?" "Yea." Dax made a face and could tell Kovie was glaring at him. Could practically see the hole forming in his head. "Bro, really? Im trying to help." I popped Kovie on his horns and tsked. "Be nice to your brother." "Yes Mother." That earned him another slap to the horns. "Dragon gestations are about the same length but it takes the females longer to show. By next week you'll start showing and might even get bigger than Kelly." He lovingly scratched the top of Kelly's head and she purred while folding her arms under her belly. "If you ask me. I think you turning actually saved the baby." Kelly said. This earned a very shocked look from everyone. "What?" I thought about it. I had been feeling a bit off before going in but the pre-turn tests came back clear. Either the baby was already dead and I was about to miscarry or it was weakening and that's why my HCG was low. Low enough to not be detectable. "No. You might actually be on to something. What if it actually did. In order for you to be reborn you have to die right?" Kovie stiffened. His voice was pitiful. "My child had died?" I rubbed his horns and bridge of his nose. "I don't know love. It might have been dying. Either way it's alive now." He repositioned his head to lay his ear over my womb. From his thoughts I could tell he heard the heart beat. But until we went in tomorrow for my check up, we wouldn't be sleeping very well tonight. Dax and Kelly dog piled on the sofa while Kovie and I stayed awake talking about what could've happened. The next morning we sat nervously in the doctors office. I sat on the weird bed, bench thing and swung my feet as I tried to process all my questions. When the doctor came in she immediately sat down and sighed. "So. You are indeed pregnant. And you were pregnant before turning." My heart dropped. "However, your husband's brother's theory is correct." Kovie and I both breathed a sigh of relief. "The fetus was still viable while you were on the table and the adrenaline shots kept them alive while the DNA was being introduced. At the stage you are at it altered the genetic make up to allow your DNA to mingle with the coexisting strands. From the sample we got from the amniotic sac, we know what the child will be as well as the gender." Kovie spoke up. "A Shade. A powerful hybrid, yet rare." "Correct. And you're having a boy." She then looked at us and stood while placing a hand on my shoulder. "Go home, get some rest, and enjoy your pregnancy." We were both quiet as I drove us home. The wind on my face felt good. I was happy I got a jeep instead of a regular car. "Wanna go shopping for baby stuff?" I asked as I looked both ways before continuing to drive. "If you want to." He replied. By his short responses I knew he was listening to the baby's thoughts. We drove all around town, to every baby store, and got bags of baby clothes and a puree machine from Walmart. Soon the whole neighborhood knew I was pregnant, as Dax was indeed correct again that I would be bigger than Kelly. Apparently my child was a dragon fetus, not a human fetus. Meaning that I had a winged lizard growing in my uterus. Thank the gods I was fireproof. The only complaint I had was maybe the fact that I had literal heart burn. I was also happy to learn from my dragon midwife that when he was born, he would be the size of a cantaloup instead of a watermelon. I was only getting so big so he had room to stretch his wings. Things were going really good. Kelly and Dax helped us out a lot, even Tessa was being a huge help. I was slowly getting ahold of my shifting ability and the kids no longer feared me. Instead the used me as a jungle gym. The parents were happy because, well, who the hell would try to f**k with a sub division with it own guard dragon? A pregnant one at that. A few weeks later I was basking in the front yard, swatting my stomach with my tail as the little heathen in my womb decided to it was time for flight practice. *Stop swatting him.* Kovie chuckled. I growled. *Butt out, this is between me and the baby.* The baby was now ramming into the spots I was swatting. I chuckled as Kovie walked over to feel the thumps. But as soon as he touch me, the baby calmed down. He instead curled himself into his fathers touch. I let him be for a minute before returning to normal and heading into the house for obvious reasons. Tessa was making lasagna and it smelled heavenly. She absently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and that's when I saw it. A small tattoo that consisted of twisted letters almost hidden by her side burns. I got a little closer and noticed that it was actually a brand. Kovie looked at the brand and I could feel his mind tense. "Tessa?" She turned and smiled. "Yes? Are you feeling ok?" She saw the concerned look on mine and Kovie's face and we could feel her heart start to race. "What?" "Who branded you?" She immediately paled and I could see her eyes searching for an answer. "No one." She turned her attention back to the food baking in the oven and refused to answer anymore questions. She was on edge for the rest of the night. She ate and left, leaving us to our thoughts. "That was..... unexpected. Do you think maybe she was branded by a gang?" Kovie shook his head. "It's the brand of a hunting organization. I just don't know which one." "What about the wound on her left shoulder?" He took another bite and thought. "My guess is that they turned on her. A hunter never travels alone and it would explain why she knew so much." Her puzzle pieces were coming together and he called Dax to do some digging. As expected, she had just popped up in the system out of no where. It was like she had just appeared out of thin air. The next morning we invited her over for a small interrogation and when she walked into our kitchen she knew. A manila folder laid out on the table had all of her current documents and the look on our faces said it all. She sighed while sitting then leaned back in the chair. "What do you want to know?" She asked. "Everything." I said. I honestly felt betrayed. I was starting to trust her and to find out she had lied this whole time. Kovie pulled a chair out for me and then sat close to her. "My name really is Tessa. I don't have a last name. I was pulled out of an orphanage by a man claiming to be a member of a "Monster" hunting order." She said with heavy quote over the monster part. "I was... six, maybe seven. I was raised as a hunter from then on." Kovie grabbed a bottle of whiskey and gave it to her. She opened it without a second thought and drank straight from the bottle. After she set it down, she continued. "Im the one who switched your vials the day you turned. They had planned on kidnapping you and turning you into a weapon. I was a good little minion and did as I was told. When I left and got in the van," she paused to down half the bottle, "I was shot in shoulder by my handler and dumped in the harbor. He was aiming for my heart. Don't know why and don't care. The people who raised me and were supposed to love me tried to kill me. Ive been hurt more by humans while immortals have never done a single thing to me. So I defected and decided to be you're ally." I tried to be angry but I just... couldn't. She never had a chance in this world for a normal life and she was brainwashed. Plus she saved our child. "You saved him. Even if you hadn't intended too. But if you betray us, I will let Kovie rip your arms off and beat you to death with them." She chuckled a bit at that. "I have nothing to lose as I've displayed by walking into the dragons lair. Quite literally." We talked for a few hours and as it turns out, she had quite a bit of useful information. Assuming it was accurate. And she was actually pretty cool. Her other persona was highly annoying but friendly. "So they brand you?" She nodded. "It's a right of passage. You're tortured for ten days straight and if you survive, you get the brand and your new life begins." Her and Kovie were about two bottle in and she was still going strong. "Not to mention all the women, except for the "special ones", are sterilized." We felt bad for her when we heard that. "You know, if you mated with an Elven male that everything would grow back right?" Kovie said. She had a look of genuine hope in her eyes. "Really?" "Yup. Just have to find one willing. Who knows, maybe that's who your mate is meant to be." I smacked him. "Their also researching the Elve's re-fertilization genes to cure infertility." She smiled and absently rubbed her belly. "I could have a real family." She mumbled. We both felt sad. We knew the feeling. We got lucky. Tessa passed out on the couch and we curled up in bad. Kovie tried to initiate s*x but I turned him down. I knew we'd get loud but we had a guest. This didn't make him happy so he just jerked off until he fell asleep.

Hey guys. So Tessa's big secret is out in the open now. What will this lead to? What will the fall out, if any, be? I hope you guys are staying safe out there with everything that's going on. I love all of your faces and I'm still wanting some fan art for a book cover and just in general. Love you guys and thank you for the support and encouraging comments. <3